Automatic record changing apparatus



Sept. 11, 1945. KAHL ETAL 2,384,682

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING APPARATUS Filed July 30, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.!

, mvENToRs RITZ KAHLER I Sept. 11, 1945. F. KAHL ETAL 2,384,682

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING APPARATUS Filed July 30. 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FRITZ K'AHL Sept. 11,1945; F. KAHL ETAL ,384, 7

AUTOMATIC RECORD dxmmme APPARATUS 'Filed'July so; 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet a FRITZ KAHL Sept. 1945. I F. KAHL s-rAL 2,384,632

AUTOMATIC RECORD CHANGING APPARATUS v Filed July so, 1940 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 V Z 'IINVENTORS FR'ITZ KAHL A OR .BOOHER Patented Sept. 11, 1945 2,384,682 AUTOMATIC RECORD cnanoma APPARATU Fritz Kalil and Ortiz C. Booher, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignors to Farnswortli Television and Radio Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application July so, 1940, Serial No. 348,576

Claims.

This invention relates to phonograph apparatus, and more particularly to improved recordchanging mechanism wherein a stack of records is peripherally supported above the turntable and the lowermost record of the stack is adapted successively to be moved to the turntable for playing.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved record-changing mechanism of reduced size requiring a minimum of space in a phonograph cabinet and having no tendency to chip the edges of the records.

A further object of the invention is to provide a record-changing apparatus which releases records one at a,time regardless of whether the records are warped or of odd thickness.

A further object of this invention is to provide a record-changing apparatus which does not jam when the records are moved to the turntable.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a record-changing apparatus which comprises a turntable, means for supporting a stack of records at its periphery, means rotatable with said turntable and means for moving the lowermost record on said supporting means. The movement of said lowermost record allows the wall of its central aperture to engage said rotatable means and move said lowermost record into position on said turntable.

For a better understanding of the invention together with other and further objects thereof, reference is made to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, anditsscope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is atop plan view of the apparatus with the unplayed records removed;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus in Fig. l showing a group of records supported over the turntable and one record on the turntable g; pllaying position as viewed from line 2--2 of Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the apparatus in Fig. 1 showing the cam arrangement for raising and lowering the pickup arm and the mechanlsm associated with the shelves 21A and 21B; 1

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the underside of the apparatus;

Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8 are fragmentary views showing various positions of records in relation to the eccentric spindle at closely spaced intervals of time after the stack of unplayed records has been moved so that the lowermost record of said unplayed recordsengages the spindle; and

Fig. 9 is a view of a friction clutch assembly used in the apparatus.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the invention as illustrated is embodied in a record-changing mechanism including a base plate I! supporting a horizontally rotatable turntable lfi capable of supporting one or more records ll thereon. The toprecord carried by the turntable is in position to be played. The unplayed records I! (Fig. 2) are supported in a stack above the turntable so that the lowermost record of said stack may be moved into playing position on the turntable. A reproducer I5 is supported at one end of a pickup arm 20, which is pivoted at its opposite end about the vertical axis of a shaft 2! (shown in Figs. 2 and 3) which is rotatable within apedestal 22 to permit the reproducer and the pickup arm to move across the face of a record on the turntable as the needle of the reproducer follows the groove of said record.

The unplayed stack of record i8 is positioned above the turntable by a pin 23 carried by a plate 26 pivoted at its supported end upon a bracket 25 extending upwardly from the base plate 5.

The unplayed stack of records i8, positioned by the pin 23, is supported on shelves 26 and 21A or NB which are associated with brackets 25 and 28, respectively. When said stack of records is composed of ten-inch records, the records aresupported by edge 26A of the shelf 28, and the shelf 21A. When the unplayed stack of records is composed of twelve-inch records, the records are supported by edge 28B of the shelf 26, and

, the shelf 218. The edge 28B of the shelf 26 is shown in Fig. 1.

The shelf 26 is rotatably supported at the proper height upon a shaft 29. The shaft :29, being rotatably mounted in the bracket 28 may be turned to any desired 90 angle and lockedin position as will be described more fully hereafter. When positioned to support ten-inch records, said shelf is locked in the position shown in Fig. 1. By rotating the shelf 26- 90 in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Fig, 1, said shelf is adaptedto support twelve-inch records.

The shelves 21A and 21B are adapted to support ten-inch records and twelve-inch records, respectively. The shelf 27B is supported directly upon uprights (Fig. 3) which are slidably mounted and guided by a member 3| which may be an integral part of the bracket 25. The shelf 21A is pivotally supported on a rod 32 which is secured to a pair of ears ll extending upwardly from the shelf 213. The uprights 30 with the supportin shelves 21A and :11; carried thnrnhv are normally mounted in uppermost position under tension of springs 34, in which position they support the unplayed records free of the recordrileasing member or spindle to be described herea ter.

The lower ends of the movable uprights 30, which extend through the base plate [5, are connected below said base plate by a bar 35 (Fig. 3) which is provided with a roller 36 (Fig. 4) Said roller is so positioned that it is capable of being engaged and actuated by the cam gear 31, as will be described hereafter, for lowering the bar 35 against the tension of springs 34 to lower the shelves 21A and 213 when the lowermost -unplayed record is to be released. s

A spindle 38 afiixed to the turntable it to rotate therewith is horizontally displaced (fig. 2) to the left of pin 23 and'extends upwardly. The lower portion 38A of said spindle, which extends upwardly to the height to which the played records may accumulate upon the turntable, performs the function of centering records on the turntable. The spindle 38 is prolonged to form a laterally displaced portion 383 terminating in a reduced portion 380 which is formed by notching the upper end of said spindle. The notching of the spindle also forms a shoulder 39.. The reduced portion 380 of the spindle lies immediately under the overhead pin 23 and is located eccentrically of the axis of said pin. The reduced portion 38C is spaced vertically from the pin 23 a distance less than the thickness of one record so that, when a. record is moved from the supporting shelves, said record is certain of engaging said reduced portion. Thus the reduced portion sac and the laterally displaced portion 383 of the spindle rotate with the turntable eccentrical- 'ly of the axis of pin 23. Portion 38C follows a circular path, a portion of which is transverse of the centering aperture of the lowermost sup- Ported record.

The unplayed records is normally are carried by their supporting shelves in a plane above the reduced portion 380 of the spindle so as not to be engaged by said reduced portion. But when the shelves 21A and 21B are lowered by the movement of the roller 36, the lowermost record of the stack of unplayed records drops on the shoulder 39 of the spindle 38 to a position where the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost unplayed record is engaged by the reduced portion 380 of said spindle, as shown in Fig. 5. The rotation of the spindle is so timed that, at the time of the lowering of the lowermost unplayed record into engagement withsaid spindle, the shoulder and the portion 383 of said spindle are nearest the right-supporting bracket, as shown in Fig. 5. Theeccentric movement of the reduced portion 38C, while it is engaged with the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost record, moves said lowermost record from the shelves 21A or 213, as shown in Fig. 6. The

height of the reduced portion 380 is such that about the shaft 2i.

shelf 26, as shown in Fig.8, and said lowermost record moves to the centering portion 38A of said spindle. This portion of said spindle centers the record into playing position on the turntable.

The mechanism for driving the record-changing apparatus includes an electric motor 40 which is provided with a shaft 4|. Said shaft is operatively connected to rotate the turntable and shaft 42 by -means of a friction wheel 43 shown by dotted lines under the left-hand flange of the turntable in Fig. 2. The shaft 42 has a direct driving connection with the spindle 38, and carries a pinion gear 44 adapted to mesh with the cam gear 31.

The cam gear 31, as shown in Fig. 4, is affixed to shaft 45 which extends downwardly from the underside of the base plate l5. Several teeth are removed from said cam gear at point 46 to form a mutilated portion, said mutilated portion serving the purpose of breaking the driving corinection between the cam gear 31 and the pinion gear 44. v

The shaft 42 is provided with a radially extending pin 41, preferably mounted immediately above the pinion gear 44, said pin being'adapted to "engage a pivoted lever 48 mounted on the cam gear ,31 when said lever is-pivoted into the path of said pin. During the playing of a record, the pivoted lever 48 is elevated out of the path of the extending pin 41 in the mannerto be described hereafter. g

The pivoted lever 48 has its opposite end engaged by a horizontally pivoted lever 49 which is afilxed to the base plate I5 at 50 and which is actuated by a tripping mechanism, to be described hereafter, which in turn is actuated by the pickup arm 20. In moving toward the center of the record, the pickup arm 20 moves with the hollow shaft 2|. Said hollow shaft has secured to it a clutch mechanism 52, the detailed construction of which will be described hereafter, which frictionally engages a lever 53.

Referring particularly to Fig. 3, the lever 53 is pivotally supported at one end for rotation Thus, asa record is being played and the pickup arm 20 moves toward the center of the record, the clutch mechanism moves the lever 53 in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 4. The lever 53 engages the side of a lever 54 which also moves in a counterclockwise direction. The free end of the lever 5 3 is preferably turned downwardly at right angles and engages the lower end of the lever 49, which is pivotally mounted intermediate its end to the base plate 85.

Each time the cam gear 31 completes a revolution, the upper end of the pivotal lever 48, previously described, engages the upper end of the lever 49, which is so shaped that its engagement with the pivotal lever 48 causes the upper end of said pivotal lever to move toward the surface of the cam gear3i and the lower end of said pivotal lever to move out of the path of the pin d1.

As the pickup arm 20 approaches the inner groove of the top record on the turntable, it moves the levers 53, 5t and 69 in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 4). The lower end of the lever 49 carries a leaf spring 55 which lies in the path of a cam 56 "which is afllxed to and rotates with the shaft 42. The cam 56 periodically strikes the spring 55 and moves the lever 49, and with it the levers Stand 54, in a clockwise direction (Fig. 4.), the lever 53 changing its position with respect to the pickup arm by virtue of the clutch mechanism.

When the needle at the end-of the pickup arm 20 moves into the inner groove of the record that is being played, the lever 49 is moved by the cam 55 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 4) only against the biasing'action 'of a clutch spring 51, as will presently be shown in greater detail when the construction of the clutch is described. When this occurs, the cam 56 may temporarily move the levers 53, .54 and 49 clockwise (Fig. 4), but these levers are immediately thereafter returned in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 4) by the action of the spring 51. The return movement is sufllciently great so that the lever 49 is moved out of engagement with the lever 48. Said lever 48 thereupon moves in a vertical plane to position the lower end thereof, as shown in Fig. 4, downwardly in the path of the pin 41. As said pinrotates, it engages the pivoted lever dB and moves the said lever in a horizontal plane whereby the cam gear 31 is rotated sufficiently far so that the teeth of said cam gear mesh with the teeth of the pinion gear 44, after which the pinion gear continues to drive said cam gearthrough a complete revolution to effect a recordchanging cycle.

The detailed construction of the clutch mechanism 52 previously referred to will now [be described'in greater detail. Referring particularly to Fig. 9 of the drawings, a flanged sleeve 58 is aflixed to the hollow shaft 2i which also supports the pickup arm 20. Plate 59, to which are fixed the lever 53 and an ear 6B, is mounted in frictional relationship with the flanged portion of the sleeve 58. A suitable fiber washer tl is slipped over the plate 59. A plate 6.2 with a turned-down car 53 is placed over the fiber washer ti A washer 64, preferably with a spring characteristic, is placed over the plate '62. A flanged cover member 65 is screwed on the sleeve 58 sufficiently far so that the bottom of the flanged portion of the cover member 65 rests upon the spring washer 64. The spring washer 6t maintains an even frictional engagement between the plate 62 and the fiber washer when the cover member 65 and the sleeve 58 are screwed together. The clutch spring 51 is connected to the outer-flange of the flanged sleeve 58 and the turned-down ear 63 of the plate 62. The turned-down ear 63 and the ear 50 .are in such relationship that when the pickup arm '20 reaches the inner groove of the record, the movement of the levers 53, 54 and 49 is reversed by the cam 56, and the ears B3 and 60 are moved in a clockwise direction (Fig. 4) against the tension of the clutch spring 51. When the cam 58 moves out of relationship with the lever 49,

' the tension of the clutch spring 51 moves the levers 53, 5t and 69 with enough force to release the upper end of the lever 49 from engagement with the'lever 58, thus initiating the rotation of the cam gear ill.

From the above, it will be noted that the cam gear 31 will be driven one revolution upon the actuation of the tripping mechanism and, upon completion of a single revolution, said cam gear will come to rest. The cam surfaces on the cam gear 31 act first to raise the pickup arm to lift the needle in the reproducer l9, from the record,.then to swing the pickup arm 20 in a horizontal plane beyond the peripheral edgeof the records on the turntable l6, and then to move the lowermost unplayed record from the support ing shelves 26 and 21A or 218 to cause said lowermost record to become engaged by the reduced portion 38C for moving said lowermost supported record into playing position on the turntable. Thereupon, the pickup arm is returned to the initial groove of the dropped record and is lowered thereon. The cam gear then comes to rest to permit the playing of the record in the usual way until the pickup arm reaches the inner groove of the record where it will cause the tripping mechanism to be initiated to start the cam gear on another revolution.

The first action caused by the cam surfaces on the cam gear 31 when it starts to rotate is effected by a cam surface 65. An arm 81 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends by means of a bracket 88 to the underside of the base plate i5. Said arm carries at one end a roller 68 which is biased by a spring 10 into engagement with the cam surface 65. As the roller 59 follows the cam surface 66, it moves the left-hand end of the arm .61 upward. This movement in turn raises a pin 1i (Fig. 3) vertically in the hollow shaft II. The upper end of the pin engages the underside of the pickup arm to raise purpose there is provided a lever 12 (Figs. 3 and 4) which is aiilxed to the lower end of the hollow shaft 2|, and at the opposite end of which is fixed a pin 13. A horizontal movement of the lever 12 effects a corresponding movement to said on the cam gear 31. Said toe is continuously biased toward the cam surface 18 by a spring 15. After the pickup arm has been raised from the surface of the record in the manner previously described, and as the cam gear continues to rotate, the cam surface 18 moves the L-shaped lever 15 in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 4)

about its axis and causes the right-hand side of the aperture 14 to engage and drive before it the pin 13, said pin moving the lever 12 and therewith the pickup arm in a radial direction away fromthe center of the record. The cam surface 18 is so shaped that the L-shaped lever 15 ceases its counterclockwise rotation at a time when the pickup arm has been moved beyond the edge of the record on the turntable.

After the pickup arm 20 thus has been swung clear of the played record, another record is moved into position on top of the turntable or the previously played record. As described above, the lowermost unplayed record is moved by lowering the plates 21A or 213 with said record is engaged by the reduced portion 380 of spindle 38. This movement is effected by the engagement of cam surface (Fig. 4) with the roller 36 affixed to the bar 35. Immediately thereafter the cam surface 80 moves out of engagement with the roller 38, permitting the springs 34 to return the supporting plates 21A and 2-13 to their normal positions so that the remaining unplayed records will be supported free 01 the reduced portion 380.

The cam gear has by this'time rotated sufni engagement with the record just placed on the turntable. Immediately thereafter the cam gear comes to rest in the position shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, and the playing of the record recently placed upon the turntable takes place.

As appears in Fig. 4, a fixed stop 8| is secured to the base plate IS, with an upturned end 82 positioned in the path of the movement of the lever 53. As the pickup arm is swung beyond the edge of turntable and the records thereon during a record-changing cycle, it moves the lever 53 in a clockwise direction (Fig. 4) into engagement with the stop 8|. The engagement between the lever 53 and the stop 8| is effected, however, before the pickup arm has swung to its outermost position. The lever 53 changes its angular position relative to the pickup arm 20 through the slipping connection of the clutch mechanism previously described. This positions the lever 53 well forward of the pickup arm 20 and, as said pickup arm returned toward the inner groove of the record, it insures positive engagement of the levers 53, 54 and 49 prior to the time when the needle of the reproducer reaches said inner groove.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 4, the shelf 28, which is fixed to the upper end of the shaft '29 and is cam is provided with notches 84,- 85 and 88 which are engaged by a pin 81 fixedly secured to the right-hand end of a lever 88. Said lever is pivotally connected intermediate its ends at 89 to the base plate [5. Aspring 90, which is aflixed to the left-hand end of the lever 88, normally 'biases the pin 81 into continuous engagement with one of the notches 84, 85 or 86. When notch 84 engages the pin 81, the shelf 28 is locked in position to support ten-inch records. When 0rd from the turntable.

The left-hand end of lever 88 extends into engagement with the L-shaped lever 15 and a set screw 9| which is provided near the lower end of said L-shaped lever. The contour of the cam 83 is such that the left-hand end of the lever 88 allows less clockwise movement (Fig. 4) of the L-shaped lever 15 under the biasing action of the spring 19 when the apparatus is set to operate on twelve-inch records than on ten-inch records. This limited angular movement of the L-shaped lever- 15 insures that the pickup arm is returned properly to the initial groove of the record about to be played. Thus, it is evident that the manual positioning of the shelf 28 for supporting either a stack of ten-inch or twelveinch records automatically sets the mechanism In addition to the ordinary tripping mechanism previously described, there is also provided a manual trip lever 92 (Fig. 4) pivotally mounted on the underside of the base plate i5. The lower end 93 of the lever 92 is bent to extend upwardly through a slotted aperture 94 (Fig. 1) in the base plate l5. To this bent end 93 of the lever 92 is affixed a knob 95 (Figs. 1 and 2). The lever 92 is normally biased by a spring 98 out of enagement with the turned-down lower end of the lever 49, but the lever 92 may be pivoted manually to engage the lower end of the lever 49, thereby moving the upper end of the lever 49 out of engagement with the lever 48 manually to trip the mechanism and initiate a recordchanging cycle.

The general mode of operation will now be described. After a stack of records has been placed upon the shelves 28 and 21A or 218 associated with the brackets 25 and 28 and a record has been placed in playing position upon the turntable IS; the pickup arm 29 is moved manually to place the needle of the reproducer l9 in the initial groove of the record on the turntable.

The Pickup arm moves inwardly as the needle of the reproducer follows the spiral groove of the record and eventually reaches the inner groove where the automatic tripping mechanism is actuated by the movement of the levers 53, 54 and 49 (Fig. 4) responsive to the movement of the pickup arm, whereby the levers 49 and 48 disengage and the lever 48 moves in a vertical plane into the path of the pin 41 provided on the shaft 42.

Engagement of the pin 41 with the lever 48 causes the cam gear 31 to be rotated until the teeth of said cam gear mesh with the teeth of the pinion gear 44, after which the cam gear 31 is driven by the pinion gear 44 through a recordchanging cycle.

As the cam gear 31 rotates, the cam surface 88 (Fig. 4) moves the arm 81 and raises the pickup arm off of the played record.

Continued movement of the cam gear causes the cam surface 18 (Fig. 4) to move the L-shaped lever 15, and therewith the lever 12, to swing the pickup arm beyond the edge of the played record on the turntable.

Shortly thereafter, the cam surface (Fig. 4) engages the roller 38 which forces the bar 35 downwardly, thus lowering the shelves 21A and 213 so that the lowermost supported record is moved on the shoulder 39 of the spindle 38. The rotation of the spindle 38'moves said lowermost record from shelves 21A or 213. Immediately thereafter the springs 34 raise the shelves 21A or 213 to their normal position, thereby raising the rest of the stack of unplayed records out of engagement with said spindle. The record on the shoulder 39 of said spindle is thereafter moved by the rotation of the spindle to playing position on the turntable.

The cam gear 31 has by this time rotated sumciently far so that the cam surface 18 (Fig. 4) allows the L-shaped lever 15 to move clockwise (Fig. 4) under the biasing action of the spring 19 to return the pickup arm to a position where the needle is over the starting groove of the record placed upon the turntable.

At this time, the cam surface 88' (Fig. 4) has rotated to the point where the arm 81 permits the needle of the reproducer to be lowered into engagement with the record just placed on the turntable. Immediately thereafter, the cam gear ent considered the preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention, and. it is, therefore, aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 1

What is claimed is:

l. A record-changing apparatus comprising a rotatable turntable for receiving a record to be played; two diametrically opposite supports with respect to said turntable ior'supporting a stack of records over said turntable by engaging portions of the peripheral edge of the lowermost supported record, one of said supports being adapted to be moved; a member extending upwardly from and being rotatable with said turntable, said member having at one end thereof a reduced portion displaced with respect to the axis of said member and being adapted to engage the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost supported record when said record is moved; and means operatively connected to said movable support for changing the position thereof a predetermined distance for moving the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost supported record into the path of said reduced portion whereby the rotation of said member disengages successively the peripheral edges of said lowermost supported record from said supports to permit said record to move into-playing position on said turntable.

- 2. A record-changing apparatus comprising a rotatable turntable for receiving a record to be played; two diametrically opposite supports with respect to said turntable ror supporting a stack of records over said turntable by engaging por tions of the peripheral edge of the lowermost supported record, one of said supports being adapted to be moved; a member extending upwardly from and being rotatable with said turntable, said member having at one end thereof a reduced portion the height of the thickness of one record, being displaced with respect to the axis of said member and being adapted to engage the wall of the centering aperture of the lowermost supported record when said record is lowered; and means operatively connected to said movable support for lowering the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost supported record into the path of said reduced portion whereby the rotation of said member disengages successively the peripheral edges of. said lower most supported record from said supports to permit said record to move into playing position on said turntable.

3. A record-changing apparatus comprising a rotatable turntable for receiving a record to be played; two diametrically opposite supports with respect to said turntable for supporting a stack K of records over said turntable by engaging portions of the peripheral edge of the lowermost supported record, one of said supports being adapted to be moved; a spindle having a. centering portion, a laterally displaced portion and a reduced portion, said spindle being rotatable with said turntable and being positioned normally out of engagement with a stack of supported records; and means operatively connected to said movable support for changing the position thereof for mov-,

ing the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost support record into the path of said reduced portion whereby the rotation of said spindle transmits reciprocatory lateral movement to said lowermost supported record for disengaging successively the peripheral edges of said record from said supports and permitting said record to move into centered position on said turntable.

4. A. record-changing apparatus comprising a rotatable turntable for receiving a record to be played; two diametrically opposite supports with respect to said turntable for supporting a stack ord is moved; and means operatively connected to said movable support for moving the edge at the centering aperture of the lowermost supported record into engagement with said shoulder whereafter the rotation of said rotatable member disengages said lowermost supported record from said supports and said shoulder to permit said record to move into playing position on said turntable.

5. A recordchanging apparatus comprising a rotatable turntable for receiving a record to be played; two-diametrically opposite supports with respect to said turntable for supporting a stack of records over said turntable by engag n Portions of the peripheral edge of the lowermost sup ported record, one of said supports being adapted to. be moved; a centering member associated with one of said supports for passing through the centering apertures of said stack of records; a member extending upwardly from and being rotatable with said turntable, said rotatable member having at one end thereof a reduced portion eccentric to the axis of said centering member and being adapted to engage the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost supported record when said record is moved; and means operatively connected to said movable support for changing the position thereof a predetermined distance for moving the wall of the centering aperture of said lowermost supported record into the path of said reduced portion whereby the rotation of said rotatable member disengages successively the peripheral edges of said lowermost supported record from said supports to permit said record to move into playing position on said turntable.

FRITZ KAI-IL. 

